WS 02 - One Health: Focus on Zoonoses

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of the One Health approach in combating infectious diseases. While the One Health approach has been followed for a long time in combating AMR, this is not yet sufficiently the case in the prevention of zoonoses. To advice the Tripartite Plus (WHO, FAO, OIE, UNEP) on necessary activities in the context of (emerging) zoonoses a One Health High Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP) has been established and launched in May 2021, following a French/German initiative. The OHHLEP is intended to strengthen the cooperation of the Tripartite Plus. Among other things, it will deal with obstacles in the implementation of the One Health approach, an inventory of international projects, requirements for surveillance and early warning systems as well as best practice examples. In parallel to the establishment of the OHHLEP a number of international initiatives with the aim of strengthening pandemic preparedness and preventing zoonoses have been agreed and partially already established (e.g. PREZODE, ZODIAC, G7 One Health intelligence scoping study, WHO Intelligence Hub in Berlin).

The session will provide a forum for discussing the role of the One Health approach in the context of infectious diseases with a focus on (emerging) zoonoses and inform about the current status of the OHHLEP, its work plan and possibly first recommendations. In addition it will provide an opportunity to identify open questions that can be taken up in the international processes as well as possible next steps to further develop the One Health collaboration. A special focus will be placed on the perspective of low- and middle-income countries.

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